African based solar system startup, Off Grid Electric, raises $55 million in Series D round

An African based solar system startup, Off Grid Electric, has raised $55 million in Series D round led by Helios Investment Partners, including GE ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric Company.

According to the company, the money raised will, in part, fund its expansion into Ghana, where it will continue a partnership it recently started with French utility (Electricite de France SA (EDF) in the Ivory Coast region.

With this new investment, Off Grid’s offerings will now be available in four countries in Africa; Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana.

According to the company’s CEO, Xavier Helgesen, in an interview with Bloomberg, “The fundamental economics drive this all. I keep telling people that an electron from a solar panel is the cheapest electron you are going to find pretty much anywhere in the world.”

Pay-as-you-go solar systems has really caught on in places without grid power and these are only solutions available to these people. A look at the adoption figures reiterate this fact. Off Grid powers more that 1.5 million homes in Africa.

Off Grid Electric is also funded by companies like Tesla and Total.

According to the World Bank and GOGLA report, off-grid solar devices could reach 740 million people in 150 million un- or under-electrified houses by 2022.